Head-rest for barber and other chairs.



PATENTED MARQZG, 1907.

E. BERNINGHAUS. HEAD BEST FOR BARBER AND OTHER CHAIRS;

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 20, 1905'.

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ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HEAD-REST FOR BARBER AND OTHER CHAIRS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 26,1907.

Application filed February 20, 1905. Serial No. 246.449.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EUGENE BERNING- runs, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Head-Rests for Barber and other Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in adjustable head rests or supports, such as are ordinarily employed in connec tion with barber or dental chairs and the like; and the object of the invention is to provide a device of this general character of a simple and inexpensive nature and of a compact, strong, and durable construction which shall be capable of convenient and accurate adjustment into position for use and may, when desired, be thrown back out of the way without requiring its removal from the chair.

The invention consists in certain novel features of the construction, combination, and arrangement of the several parts of the improved head-rest whereby certain important advantages are attained, and the device is made simpler, cheaper, and otherwise better adapted and more convenient for use, all as will be hereinafter fully set forth.

The novel features of the invention will be carefully defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which serve to illustrate my invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improved head-rest, showing the same adjusted to an elevated position, but with its cushion omitted. In this view portions of the chair-back to which the improved head-rest is applied are also omitted. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation showing the head-rest dropped upon the back of the chair, so as to be out of the way of the operator attending on the person seated in the chair. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation showing the portion of the chair-back provided with my improved head-rest in raised position. Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken through the device in the plane indicated by the line as m in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a rear side view of the cushion-frame or body portion of the improved head-rest and showing the means for holding the cushion in positlon thereon.

In these views, 1 indicates the back of a chair to which my improved head-rest is applied, and 2 represents a transverse rail extended across the upper part of the chairback, while 3 indicates a frame-upright centrally located in the chair-back and provided with a vertical guideway 4, the upper end of which is open at the top of the chair-back to receive the stem or slide member 5 of the head-rest,

The head-rest stem or slide member 5 is centrally grooved, as shown at 6, to produce rearwardly-directed flanges 7 7 along opposite edges of its rear surface, and at the upper part of the frame member 3 is attached upon the back of the chair a face-plate or escutcheon 8, which is extended across the channel or guideway 4, in which the stem or slide member 5 of the head rest plays in such a way that the flanges 7 7 above referred to at opposite sides of the said stem or member 5 are adapted for sliding contact upon said face-plate or escutcheon when the head-rest is vertically adjusted. By this arrangement the structure is lightened and at the same time wear-of the stem 5 upon the escutcheon 8 is lessened.

One of the flanges 7 of the stem or slide member 5 has a series of rack-teeth 9, extended lengthwise along it, and upon the face-plate or escutcheon 8 is pivotally mounted a springactuated dog or pawl 10, the nose of which is arranged to pass through an opening 11 in said escutcheon-plate in and out of engagement with said rack-teeth 9.

In this way it will be seen that when the dog or pawl is pressed to disengage its nose from the rack-teeth 9 the stem or slide member 5 may be adjusted up or down in the channel or guideway 4 of the chair-back into any desired position, and when so adjusted will be securely held in place by the renewed engagement of the dog or pawl with said rack-teeth.

- Upon the upper end of the stem or slide 5 member 5 are produced integral rearwardlydirected arms 12 12, spaced apart and provided with corresponding series of erforations 13, through which is adapte to be passed a removable split pin 14, on the central portion of which is held a supporting member 15, the lower endof which is extended downward at the rear of the stem or slide member 5 and has pivotal connection at its extremity with a lug 20, rearwardly extended from said slide member.

The supporting member 1 5 has a rearwardly-directed pivot-lug 16, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, and. through which the split pin 14 is passed, and the upper end of said member 15 is bent or curved forwardly and has pivotal connection, as shown at 17, with a lug or projection 1S, integral upon the frame-plate or body portion 19 of the head-support.

from the rack-teeth 9 to permit the stem or slide member 5 to be pushed down within the guideway or channel 4 in the clurir-bacli, so that no portion of the improved head-rest is 24 indicates an auxiliary supporting memj permitted toproject above the back oi the her or brace, which is assed between the arms 12 in front or the sp it pin 14 and has its lower end extended down alongside of the supporting member 15 and adjustably sccured thereto by means of a set-screw 25, l

which is assed through a slotted opening 23, extended lengthwise of the su porting member, as clearly shown in the rawings. The upper end of the auxiliary member or brace 24 is rearwardly curved and has pivotal connections between spaced lugs or projections 26 on the frame-plate or body portion 19 above the point of attachment oi the supporting member 15.

27 indicates an inflatable pad or cushion which is extended over the up er or front surface of the frame-plate or body portion to form a head-support, and this pad or cushion is provided with a valve-tube 30, by means of which it may be inflated, and is also provided with attaching devices for holding it in po sition upon the frame-plate 19, said devices, as herein shown, comprising straps 28, adapted to be extended around the frame-plate and provided with buttons or equivalent fastening means, as shown at 29. By this arrangement it will be evident that the pad or cushion may be detached from the frameplate 19 whenever desired.

The arrangement of the supporting members 15 and 24 is such as to ermit of adjustment of the angle at which t 1e cushion or pad 27 and its frame-plate or body portion stand, so that these parts may be accommodated to different requirements and to different persons, it being only necessary to loosen the setsc rew 25, whereupon the lower end of the auxiliary member 24 may be adjusted up or down along the supporting member 15, cansing a corresponding pivotal movement of the frame-plate or body portion 19 and cushion 27 carried thereon.

The removable split pin 14, in connection with the series of openings 13 in arms 12, permits of a forward and rear adjustment of thehead-rest, so that the same may be caused to extend in front of or behind the back of the chair. To accomplish this adj ustment, it is only necessary to remove the pin 14 from one pair of alined openings 13 and to insert said pin in another pair of said openings inarms 12. It will also be evident that when the split in 14 has been removed the head-rest may iie dropped down behind the chair-back to the position shown in Fig. 2, so as to be altogether out of the way of the operator attending on a person seated in the chair, the supporting member 15 swinging pivotally u on its connection with the lug 20 and the 0g or detent 10 being disengaged l chair.

In order to permit the longitudinal adjustment of the slide member 5, the escuteheon-plate S is provided with a central slotted opening 21, adapted to be traversed by the lower lug 20 upon said slide member, the upper end of said slotted opening being laterally enlarged, as shown at 22, to receive the arms 12 at the upper end of the slide member.

From the above description'it will be evident that the improved head-rest constructed according to my invention is of an extremely simple and inexpensive nature and is especially well adapted for use by reason of the readiness and accuracy with which it may be adjusted and also by reason 01' its eapability of being thrown back completely out of the way when not required for use, and it will also be obvious from the above description that the device is capable of some modification without material departure from the principles and spirit of the invention, and for this reason I do not desire to be understood as hniting myself to the precise form and arrangement of the several parts of the device herein set forth in carrying out my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A device of the character described comprising a longitudinally-adjustable stem, a supporting member pivotally connected with the stem, means to hold the supporting member from movement relative to said stem, a body portion movably mounted on the supporting member and adapted, when said supporting member is pivotally moved, to be swung into and out of position for use, and a brace one end of which has movable connection with the body portion while its opposite end has adjustable connection with the supporting member.

2. A device of the character described comprising a longitudinally-adjustable stein, a supporting member pivotally connected with the stem and provided with a longitudinal slotted opening, means to hold the supporting member from movement relative to said stem, a body portion movably mounted on the supporting member and adapted, when said supporting member is pivotally moved, to be swung into and out of position for use, a brace one end of which has movable connection with the body portion, and a set-screw having threaded connection with the opposite end of the brace, said set-screw being passed through and adapted for adjustment along the slotted opening of the supporting member and being provided with a head engageable upon said supporting member for holding the brace in adjusted position thereon.

3. A device of the character described comprising a longitudinally-adjustable stem having means for holding it in adjusted position and provided at its upper end with an arm having a series of perforations, a supporting member having pivotal connection with the stem below the arm thereof, a pin passed through one of the perforations of the arm and engaged with the supporting member to hold it from pivotal movement relative to said stem, a body portion movable upon the supporting member, and an adjustable connection between the body portion and the supporting member for moving the body portion relatively to said supporting member.

4. In a device of the character described, the combination of a chair-back having a guideway along its rear side, an escutcheonplate extended over said guideway and provided with a slotted opening open at the upper end of the escutcheon-plate and alined with said guideway in the chairback, a stem longitudinally adjustable in the guideway of the chair-back and having at its upper end a perforated arm adapted, when the stem is slid downward in the guideway, to traverse the slotted opening of the escutcheon-plate, means for holding the stem in adjusted position in the guideway, a supporting member having pivotal connection with the stem below the arm thereof, a pin passed through the perforation of the arm and engaged with the supporting member to hold it from pivotal movement relative to the stem, a body portion movable upon the supporting member, and an adjustable connection between the body portion and the supporting member for moving the body portion relatively to said supporting member.

Signed at Cincinnati, Ohio, this 14th day of February, 1905,

EUGENE BERNINGHAUS. Witnesses:

JOHN ELIAS JoNEs, MAYME BECKER. 

